


Reciprocal Hate

by NobodyNeedsToKnow (Frozenleaf)



Category: Tales of Berseria
Genre: F/F, Smut
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-03-30
Updated: 2019-03-30
Packaged: 2019-12-26 13:40:56
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,363
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18283424
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Frozenleaf/pseuds/NobodyNeedsToKnow
Summary: She stomped towards Velvet, glad that, for whatever reason, Magilou had decided to disappear for tonight. At least she only had to deal with one horrible person tonight- even if said horrible person was probably the worst daemon she had ever had the pleasure of knowing.





	Reciprocal Hate

Velvet was the _absolute worst._

"They weren't going to hurt us, you know."

Cold, amber eyes flicked towards her, and Eleanor froze. The warmth of the inn room seemed to disappear in a single glance. Even though Velvet had taken off her cloak and whatever sporadic pieces of metal constituted 'armor', the aura of cold malevolence that surrounded her never abated. Velvet studied her for a time, her delicate features hardly betraying a thought. Then, without a word, the daemon carefully put down the blade she was sharpening and picked up another piece of her armor.

Eleanor swallowed, squishing down the slight tremor of unease and nervousness that always lingered at the edge of her thoughts whenever she talked to the daemon. Velvet was beautiful, but she was also brusque, cold- and despite how the raven-haired woman could look gentle and soft at times, whenever it came to Eleanor, all she got was the hard stone face of a daemon.

The face that Velvet wore now.

She stomped towards Velvet, glad that, for whatever reason, Magilou had decided to disappear for tonight. At least she only had to deal with one horrible person tonight- even if said horrible person was probably the worst daemon she had ever had the _pleasure_ of knowing.

"So you're just ignoring me now?"

Velvet let out a soft sigh, and her mouth twitched in annoyance. Finally, she put down her knee guard and glanced at her. "Did you really expect anything else?" she asked.

Eleanor stiffened. "You attacked them while their guard was down! They were just the regular patrol!"

"They were exorcists." Velvet shrugged, her raven hair falling over her bare shoulders, as if that was all the justification she needed for the debacle this afternoon. To be fair, Eleanor granted, she was a daemon. "And they were suspicious of us. Less able-bodied exorcists are always a good thing, in my book. Their garrison is in the middle of nowhere. It'll be ages before reinforcements arrive, and we'll be long gone tomorrow. Besides," she added pointedly, "you knew what you were getting into when you signed up."

Eleanor wanted to tear her hair out. She hated how cooly Velvet spelled it all out- hated how the daemon was right, was always _somehow_ right. Eleanor was sick of it. Sick of how Velvet trampled over everyone and their feelings, doing her own thing and dragging everyone else down with her.

"I agreed to fight if it was unavoidable, but that was _definitely_ avoidable!"

"And so is making life easier for ourselves." Velvet glared at her, her eyes flashing sinister in the faint candlelight. "We wouldn't be able to rest here, having this romantic little chat, if your exorcist friends went and alerted everyone now, would we?"

"I would have been fine on the road." Eleanor folded her arms, drawing herself to her full height.

Unimpressed, Velvet snorted, dismissively glancing away. "You would have been, but Rokurou's still healing from that stab wound, and Phi's been slowing us down for days. A single skirmish in our favour? In exchange for some time to regroup? Sounds like a fair trade, to me."

It was logical. Cold. Sometimes, Eleanor wondered if Velvet knew how _like_ Artorius she could be, sometimes.

Honestly, it made her mad.

"People's lives aren't things you can just run over, Velvet!" She slammed her fists onto the table, and for once, a flicker of an expression settled on Velvet's face. It wasn't annoyance, it wasn't irritation- but there was a smoldering heat in those amber eyes, an open flame that held Eleanor's attention; reminding her all the more of how _dangerous_ Velvet could be.

Slowly, holding Eleanor's gaze, Velvet rested a hand on the table, her fingers brushing against Eleanor's. Without a word, she rose. Despite herself, Eleanor swallowed- it was easy to forget when the daemon was seated, but Velvet towered over her, and even though her slender shoulders were bare and her armor was gone, it did nothing to dispel the menacing aura that clung to her.  

Eyes narrowed, Velvet asked, "Don't you ever get tired of being so damn self-righteous?"

"I'm self-righteous?" Eleanor spat back. "Is that what you call _caring about others_ ? You're _horrible_!"

There was a soft breath. A flicker of emotion in Velvet's face. Then, she leaned in close- so close that Eleanor could see the way her eyes burned gold in the firelight, could feel the heat of her skin against hers. Softly, Velvet asked, "Have you looked in a mirror recently?"

Eleanor bristled. She lifted her chin in defiance, ignored the way her stomach flipped, and the way her heart skipped a beat at how _close_ Velvet was. She wasn't afraid. She wouldn't be afraid. Not of _Velvet_.

Her face was impassive, but her eyes were hard and cold. This was the woman that had forced her to go against all her beliefs, had forced her to this state of confusion and uncertainty. That had, somehow, broken the chains that Eleanor had unwittingly bound herself with.

That had saved her life, even though neither of them would admit it.

"I hate you," she said.

Without missing a beat, Velvet said, "Eat me."

Eleanor growled. Then, she grabbed hold of Velvet's shoulders and crushed her mouth with her own.

Amber eyes widened in shock, shoulders stiffened in her embrace. But Velvet was enticingly _soft_. Despite her cold words and hard face, her lips were warm, delicate. Eleanor savoured them, tracing over Velvet's bottom lip with her tongue, prodding deeper into her mouth. The taste of wildberries was intoxicating, and hot desire wrapped itself around her, pushing her against the other woman's body-

A soft moan escaped Velvet's lips. Eleanor pressed her up against the wall, reveled in how easily the daemon gave way. Fumbling fingers grasped at Eleanor's arms, but instead of pushing her away, Velvet's fingers dug into her hair, her shoulders, pulling her close. If there was surprise, Eleanor barely registered it in the heady daze she found herself in.

When she pulled back, Velvet's lips were red and swollen, a faint flush of pink covering her pale features. Her eyes were unusually soft and unfocused, not at all the hawk-eyed gaze that Eleanor was far more used to.

In the candlelight, just for a moment, she looked... so human.

"Eleanor..." She breathed her name, softly. There was a question in her amber eyes.  

Eleanor swallowed, suddenly all too aware of the situation they were in. But for once, she wasn't confused. For once, she knew what she wanted.

"You asked," she whispered.

"You're horrible," Velvet returned, biting her lip.

Eleanor hesitated. "Do you... want me to stop?"

Velvet stared at her. Then she leaned in, her hands cupping Eleanor's face, her kiss whole and sweet.

Desire, hot and pure, pulsed through Eleanor, and she pressed in against the daemon. Her hands grasped at Velvet's body, sliding under the sorry excuses for clothes, caressing her in a way that made the daemon tremble in her arms.

She didn't know how they ended up on the bed, or how their clothes ended up haphazardly on the floor. Didn't expect how she enjoyed Velvet's screams, mingling with her own, as their usual animosity dissipated in the face of unrestrained pleasure.

All she knew was that, after their lovemaking, as she held Velvet in her arms, the woman didn't look a thing like a ruthless, cold-hearted daemon. Cradled against her shoulder, her delicate features were twisted unusually in a soft smile, her face soft and sweet.  

It wasn't fair that Velvet ran over everyone in her life, was almost certain that Eleanor would eventually suffer for being with her. The woman was stubborn, ruthless, cold...

Eleanor sighed. She didn't know why Velvet had to throw her entire life into a mess, didn't know how up became down and down became admitting that maybe she did have feelings for Velvet Crowe.

She kissed Velvet on her forehead. Hugged her tight, her only anchor in the world brimming with uncertainty. The only thing that she knew was true.

And for once, she was glad Magilou did not return to the room that night.

 

**Author's Note:**

> baby's first attempt at smut. written for a lovely friend of mine who encouraged me to explore Velveanor.


End file.
